Technical Field
This invention relates generally to in-floor pool cleaning systems and more particularly to heads for in-floor pool cleaning systems.
State of the Art
In-floor pool cleaning systems have been developed that clean the inner surfaces of a pool by using pressurized bursts of water from cleaning heads mounted in the floor, sides and/or steps of the pool to move debris (which includes dirt, leaves and other material in the pool) into one or more drains where vacuum pulls the debris into a filtering system. A pump, a distribution valve connected to the pump, and one or more cleaning heads connected to the distribution valve are used in a typical in-floor cleaning system. The pump delivers pressurized water into the distribution valve, which directs the pressurized water to successively control the operation of one or more cleaning heads at a time.
Cleaning heads are mounted in the floor, side or steps of a pool and are preferably flush with the pool surface. When pressurized water is diverted by the valve to a particular cleaning head (or group of cleaning heads), the pressurized water enters the insert and pushes the insert partially out of the sleeve so that the opening in the insert extends beyond the sleeve. The insert has an aperture through which pressurized water flows in order to push debris towards a drain. Conventional cleaning heads are limited in their effectiveness to move debris because of the flow of pressurized water through the cleaning head. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved cleaning head for in-floor pool cleaning systems.